The centre, which officially opened May 15, 2012, has enabled Glendon to broaden its range of programs and courses in response to the urgent need for increased postsecondary offerings in French in southern Ontario. The centre鈥檚 development was supported by a $20-million investment by the Government of Ontario. The expansion project was built on Glendon鈥檚 existing facilities and includes more than one dozen new classrooms and lecture spaces, state-of-the art language labs, open study spaces and a 250-seat amphitheatre.

The Centre of Excellence at 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon campus聽

The Centre for Excellence has a fully equipped interpretation lab and training facility, five lecture halls with tiered seating, seminar rooms with LCD projectors and screens, a student cafe, meeting areas, a large art studio, and a rooftop terrace. The facility is approximately 55,000 sq. ft, including both聽newly added and renovated space.

The historic Glendon campus presented a challenge to architectural firm , selected to lead the construction of the new building. Managing for 91亚色 was the Campus Services & Business Operations (CSBO) team. Accepting the Toronto Urban Design Award on behalf of 91亚色 were Kenneth McRoberts, principal of Glendon College, and Richard Francki, assistant vice-president, CSBO.

The company successfully merged the historic buildings with the sleek, new glass walled building. In their decision to award the prize, the jury wrote: 鈥淭he Glendon Campus has emerged from its reclusive ravine setting of dense forest at Bayview and Lawrence Avenues. The new transparent glass addition to the original red brick campus dramatically alters the first impression of the Francophone component of 91亚色 and creates a distinctive arrival pavilion and a desirable axial termination to Lawrence Avenue. Interior stairs act as vertical beacons on the exterior, and student spaces pushed to the perimeter animate and soak in the dense greenery of the site. This is a skillful handling of a top of ravine site, creating a new threshold and sense of arrival, while maintaining the proximity and presence of the forest.鈥�

Pictured聽 second from the right are Kenneth McRoberts and Richard Francki (far right) at the Toronto Urban Design Awards ceremony

The improvements mean that Glendon is now a preeminent provider of French-language higher education for Francophone learners in Southern Ontario, as well as Anglophone students seeking to study in French. New programs housed in the centre include:

• Bilingual and trilingual international Bachelor of Arts (iBA) degrees available across 18 disciplines.
• New doctoral program in 脡tudes francophones.
• Enhanced bilingual activities outside the classroom.
• A master鈥檚 program in conference interpretation.
• A unique, direct-entry Bachelor of Education for future French teachers available at the primary-junior, junior-intermediate, and intermediate-senior levels, offered through 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education.
• Collaboration with Coll猫ge Bor茅al and la Cit茅 coll茅giale.

In 2012, the Glendon campus and the Centre of Excellence were featured in the AWARD magazine.

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鈥淔ran莽oise Mougeon has made a signal contribution to Glendon through her two tenures as associate principal academic & research,鈥� said Glendon Principal Kenneth McRoberts. 鈥淥ver these several years, Fran莽oise could always be counted on to discharge her responsibilities with a clear sense of purpose, with a concern with rigour and fairness, and with close attention to detail. Through it all, she managed to maintain an active research program, to which she soon can give her full attention with a well-deserved sabbatical.鈥�

Right: Fran莽oise Mougeon

Mougeon聽is completing her second term as associate principal academic & research, having also served from 2003 to 2004.聽She will be on sabbatical starting July 1, and will return to teaching in 2012.

Mougeon鈥檚 research focused on the progress of students in their second language with funding through a Social Science & Humanities Research Council of Canada grant, from 2005 to 2008, and it continues still, in collaboration with a professor at the University of Toronto.

鈥淢y hope is to establish a French-as-a-second-language institute at Glendon, enlarging our research to studying students who are not specializing in languages,鈥� said Mougeon, an active member of Glendon鈥檚 . 鈥淚 have always tried to project linguistics and language studies as more than a support subject, but rather an important academic subject on its own.鈥�

Other future projects on her agenda include establishing a centre for advanced studies on francophonies, which she considers a natural development for Glendon, given that relating projects are already in progress and there are a significant number of fellow faculty members on campus 鈥� a core group 鈥� who are interested in participating.

She has several ongoing projects to hand over with the position. These include an innovative program for francophone students choosing public relations as their future profession. The four-year program, still to be approved, would provide graduates with a Glendon BA and a Cit茅 Coll茅giale diploma, completed at the same time.

Submitted by Glendon communications officer Marika Kemeny

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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鈥淭his is an historic moment for Glendon,鈥� said McRoberts. "We聽are deeply honoured to welcome such a large delegation of important dignitaries from Romania.鈥�

Right: Teodor Baconschi (left) and Kenneth McRoberts

The Romanian lectureship was created when a collaboration agreement between Glendon and the Institute of Romanian Language, part of the Romanian Ministry of Education & Research in Bucharest, was signed on July 12, 2010.

Valentin Naumescu, consul-general of Romania in Toronto, first contacted Glendon鈥檚 French studies Professor Dorin Uritescu and Professor Fran莽oise Mougeon, Glendon鈥檚 associate principal academic & research, who then guided the project to a successful start-up.

鈥淎s this is the first Romanian university program in Canada, we hope that in the future Glendon will become a centre which attracts students interested in pursuing in-depth studies in fields such as Romance and Balkan linguistics,鈥� said Uritescu.

The first holder of the lectureship is linguistics Professor Ioana-Cristina P卯rvu (right), who comes to Glendon from the Romanian Language Department of the University of Bucharest. Currently, she is teaching two 2000-level courses as part of the Program of Linguistics & Language Studies in Glendon鈥檚 Multidisciplinary Studies Department 鈥� Romanian Language: A Linguistic Introduction and Romanian Culture from a Semiotic Perspective. Professor P卯rvu鈥檚 term runs for three years with a possibility of renewal.

"The new courses are an excellent fit with our language programs [鈥 and there is an obvious interest in these courses. Professor P卯rvu鈥檚 contribution is very significant in motivating students. We hope to continue the program for many years to come," says McRoberts.

Before coming to Glendon, P卯rvu taught the courses in Zagreb, Croatia, to students from first year to the master鈥檚 level. 鈥淚 am eager to promote the culture and language of my country and its significance in Europe and the world,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y teaching interests extend beyond language learning to geography, history, literature, music, the cinema and sports. There is so much that can be done.鈥�

From left, front row: Professor Jerzy Kowal, chair of the Glendon Hispanic Studies Department; Uritescu; 91亚色 film Professor Tereza Barta; Mougeon; P卯rvu;聽Glendon linguistics and language Professor Ian Martin. Back row: 91亚色 information technology Professor Radu Campeanu; McRoberts; Baconschi; Romanian ambassador to Canada Elena Stefoi; Adrian Papahagi, cabinet adviser to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Romanian is the fifth major language of the Italic language family taught at Glendon 鈥� where courses in French, Spanish, Catalan and Latin already exist, continuing the linguistics program鈥檚 objective of offering courses in all the major Romance languages. In addition, growth potential for the lectureship can be found among first- and second-generation Romanian-speaking students, who are an increasing presence at Glendon and 91亚色, since the Romanian-speaking community in the GTA is estimated at around 70,000.

Right: Dorin Uritescu, McRoberts, 91亚色 information technology Professor Radu Campeanu and Elena Stefoi, Romanian ambassador to Canada

The Romanian ambassador to Canada, Elena Stefoi, Doru Liciu, vice-consul of the Consulate General of Romania in Toronto, and Adrian Papahagi, advisor to Romania鈥檚 minister of foreign affairs, were also at the launch.

鈥淲e hope that this added presence of Romanian language and culture will strengthen the links between our two societies, which have many commonalities, as well as a long history of immigration and participation in the Francophonie,鈥� said Baconschi.

For more information on the courses for the Romanian lectureship, contact Glendon鈥檚 .

By Marika Kemeny, Glendon communications officer

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The $2.5-million project is led by Francine Martineau of the university's French department, but includes 13 fellow researchers and 59 "partners" from Canada, the United States, France and Japan.

The seven-year plan is to study 400 years of family histories to examine how language has shaped communities and cultures.

"We are looking at three fields of expansion from France that are all basically located across the St. Lawrence, which is New France, Louisiana and Acadia," explained co-investigator of 91亚色 [Glendon and the ].

"If we just focused on Canada, then we would miss some important components of North American francophonie, mainly Louisiana 鈥� and probably one of the most interesting colonial settings as well, because it involved not only colonization from France, but also secondary migration from Acadia 鈥� basically the French language continued to live, but in a completely different setting from the original."

According to Mougeon, the project team plans to reach beyond linguistics and also focus on history and sociology. The team includes experts in linguistics, anthropology, history, geography and computer science. "We believe that you can only understand the evolution of language if you can actually place it in its broader socio-historical setting," said Mougeon.

. . .

The research team received the grant from the Major Collaborative Research Initiatives Program of the (SSHRC).

The project鈥檚 focus includes four centuries of history of French on the North American continent in three main colonial settings: Louisiana, New France, which is now Quebec, and Acadia.

Mougeon was also interviewed by the (video clip attached) and spoke about the study with CBC Radio Moncton, NB, March 17.

You can also read the project's .

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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His is a life dedicated to the study of literature and writing, but above all working towards establishing steady dialogue between various cultures that led to the creation of 91亚色鈥檚 Canada-Mediterranean Centre and the birth of the concept of 鈥渢ransculturalism鈥�, wrote Tandem.

At 80 years of age, Bouraoui is still travelling and feels just as at home in Toronto as he does in Paris and Africa. And he recently received his honorary citizenship from Acquaviva delle Fonti 鈥� one of the cities of the Puglia [region] that have welcomed him with 鈥渙pen arms鈥� during the Italian stopover of his international project from Canada to Puglia under the Sign of Dialogue, launched by Canada-Mediterranean Centre and by WIP Edizioni, and thanks also to the invaluable collaboration of Nicola D鈥橝mbrosio, professor of francophone literature at the University of Bari.

Bouraoui is proud of being part of the 鈥渉eart and soul of this new family midway between the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Taranto.鈥� This is a citizenship to add to his Canadian one and that enriches his Tunisian origins and plural identity, which functions in terms 鈥渙f addition, not subtraction.鈥�

鈥淎frica, Europe, North America 鈥� it鈥檚 all stratified within me,鈥� he says from his Paris home shortly before departing on his fifth trip to Puglia. 鈥淎nd you can鈥檛 take any of it away because H茅di Bouraoui is the sum of his parts. Otherwise, I would no longer be me.鈥�

For him, transculturalism is not an abstract concept, but something he experienced firsthand. 鈥淲hen I transferred from the United States to Toronto, I was eager to contribute to the great Canadian mosaic, which I saw as being the opposite of the American 鈥榤elting pot鈥�, which wants to cancel all cultural differences in the name of a stars-and-stripes recognition. But early on, during the early 鈥�70s, I realized that multiculturalism doesn鈥檛 work because each community is shut off within itself, while government, then as now, was more interested in gaining votes rather than getting the various fabrics of the mosaic to truly communicate with each other. Transculturalism, instead, is the ongoing search of dialogue between the various cultures, not a monologue.鈥�

And that is a cornerstone of Bouraoui鈥檚 works, which often focuses on the Mediterranean, 鈥渃radle of Eastern and Western civilization and of the three monotheistic religions par excellence, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.鈥�

Posted by Elizbeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Left: Jacques Cotnam

In 1964, as a young academic, Prof. Cotnam came to 91亚色 and was the聽first聽French Canadian to be appointed to its academy.聽Over the course of his distinguished 40-year career, Prof. Cotnam took a leadership role in developing the French studies curriculum. He led the聽move to include French Canadian and French literature and culture as an integral part of the program.聽In 2002, he retired from 91亚色.

Prof. Cotnam's service to the University included roles as the chair of the Department of French Studies at聽Glendon College and chair of the Graduate Program in French Studies.

He was very fond of Founders College of which he was a 鈥渕erry fellow鈥�, as he used to say. His colleagues in the French Studies Program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies describe him as having a wonderful sense of humour and a keen intellect.

Prof. was also a passionate and dedicated scholar and literary critic, and the author of some 20 books. He specialized in 20th-century French literature and focused much of his meticulous attention on the works of the novelist Andr茅 Gide. In this area, he published Essai de bibliographie chronologique des 茅crits d鈥橝ndr茅 Gide (1971), Inventaire bibliographique de la correspondance d鈥橝ndr茅 Gide (1972) and Andr茅 Gide, Correspondance 1923-1950 (2001). In 1984, in collaboration with Roland Bourneuf, he published the Correspondance Gide-Giono (1929-1940). He had recently also finished an edition of Gide鈥檚 correspondence with Edith Wharton.

Prof. Cotnam will be remembered for his remarkable contribution to Quebec literary studies. Noteworthy are three books, Le Roman qu茅b茅cois 脿 l鈥檋eure de la R茅volution tranquille (1971), Po猫tes du Qu茅bec (1969) and聽Le Th茅芒tre qu茅b茅cois聽: instrument de contestation sociale et politique (1976), and a critical edition of La Gazette litt茅raire de Montr茅al (1778-1779), prepared in collaboration with Bernard Andr猫s and Pierre H茅bert, which is to be published by the Presses de l鈥橴niversit茅 Laval (PUL) in 2010. The members of the editorial committee of the PUL collection L鈥橝rchive litt茅raire du Qu茅bec have created a prize in his honour to salute the best doctoral or master's theses defended in Canada. Winning publications will be聽published in the collection. Prof. Cotnam also dedicated long hours of research in the archives of religious congregations as part of his study of聽theatre practices in Quebec.

Among his other scholarly achievements are聽his studies on the works of his friend and colleague, 91亚色聽French聽studies Professor Emeritus聽H茅di Bouraoui: H茅di Bouraoui: iconoclaste et chantre du transculturel (1996) and Bibliographie de l鈥櫯搖vre de H茅di Bouraoui et de sa r茅ception critique de 1966 脿 2005 (2007).

To honour Prof. Cotnam's聽memory, the executive committee of the Graduate Program in French Studies has established the Jacques Cotnam Prize聽which will be awarded to the best thesis. Cotnam also leaves behind a considerable amount of research which will be conserved at the Universit茅 du Qu茅bec 脿 Sherbrooke in the Jacques Cotnam Fond.

Prof. Cotnam leaves his wife Claire and daughter Genevi猫ve.聽The funeral will take place in Quebec City on Saturday, June 12, at 11am at the 脡glise St-Dominique, 175 Grande All茅e O.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to the cancer hospice聽,听where Prof. Cotnam spent his last days.

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Here, 91亚色 humanities Professor , English Professor and PhD student Elena Basile offer an appreciation of Prof. Godard and her tireless work:

It is with great sadness that the Department of English at 91亚色 announces the death of Professor Emerita Barbara Godard, a professor of English, French, social聽& political thought and women鈥檚 studies. A pillar of the 91亚色 community and one of Canada鈥檚 pre-eminent literary scholars, Prof. Godard broadly influenced the fields of Canadian and Quebec studies, translation studies, feminist poetics, semiotics and cultural studies.

Right: Prof. Barbara Godard

She was a generous supervisor and mentor who trained and influenced a contemporary generation of cultural workers, including academics, writers and artists. The scope of her mentorship was fully recognized in 2002 when she became the recipient of teaching awards from 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools. Prof. Godard retired from full-time teaching in 2008, but continued a full intellectual and pedagogical life until her sudden passing.

Prof. Godard was a prolific and influential intellectual. An extraordinarily sharp and encyclopedic thinker, Prof. Godard鈥檚 interests encompassed semiotics, translation, gender, textuality and the body, as well as archives, memorials, and the history and changing politics of cultural production. With a keen eye for detail and a unique capacity for breadth of vision, she catalyzed interdisciplinary connections among culture, language, gender, politics, poetics and meaning.

After completing her doctorate at the University of Bordeaux, Prof. Godard began teaching at 91亚色 in 1971 as a visiting assistant professor and was hired into a tenure-track position in 1976. She published eight books, 80 book chapters and 115 articles and catalogue entries. She translated the major writers of Quebec feminism, including Nicole Brossard, Yolande Villemarie and Louky Bersianik. She also served as editor or on the editorial board of no less than 22 journals. She was a founding co-editor of the feminist literary periodical , a contributing editor of and , and the book review editor for Topia: A Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies. She also made long-standing contributions to , s and ECW among others.

Prof. Godard was committed to and passionate about her graduate students across the Departments of English, French Studies, Film and Visual Arts,听the School of Women鈥檚 Studies and the Program in Social & Political Thought, supervising over 35 PhD candidates. She built bridges between people and modes of inquiry because of her genuine enthusiasm for ideas. She worked between and across languages which so often divide. Prof. Godard inspired her colleagues and students through her critical creativity and her unwavering commitment to interrogating and producing the conditions for full civic engagement in the University and in the public sphere. We will miss her greatly.

Funeral arrangements

A funeral service will take place at 11am on Friday, May 21, at St. James-the-Less, 635 Parliament St., Toronto. A reception for friends and family will follow at Prof. Godard鈥檚 house at 217 Major St.,Toronto.

Prof. Godard鈥檚 family has requested no flowers; in light of her earlier struggles, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be greatly appreciated.

As there may be other causes to which you might wish to make a memorial donation, the agency can inform Prof. Godard鈥檚 sister Elizabeth Cox at ecox27@sympatico.ca and her son Alexis at lex_o_matic@yahoo.com.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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What is the true face of 19th-century French poet and critic Charles Baudelaire? That is what 91亚色 French studies Professor Melvin Zimmerman delves into in his upcoming book Baudelaire & Co., being launched next Tuesday.

Baudelaire has been defined as anti Jean-Jacques Rousseau and pro Blaise Pascal, but Zimmerman says the truth is more complicated.

The launch of Baudelaire & Co. (脡ditions du GREF, 2009), originally published in French and translated into English by its author, will take place on March 2, from 4 to 6pm, in the Senior Common Room, 305 Founders College, Keele campus.

Zimmerman, a senior scholar at 91亚色, has written extensively on 19th-century literature and art, concentrating on Baudelairian studies. He is also the author of the first edition of the book聽originally in聽French, Visions du Monde: Baudelaire et Cie (脡ditions du GREF, Toronto, and Paris, Nizet, 1991).

Zimmerman examines how the poet stands vis-脿-vis Rousseau and Pascal, whom he calls excellent foils for Baudelaire. 鈥淎t times Baudelaire is close to Pascal, for whom the ego is detestable; at others he is close to Jean-Jacques, who lauded, as we know, self-love,鈥� Zimmerman writes in the book鈥檚 foreword. 鈥淭his research led us to perceive in Baudelaire a pattern of opposition between mask and face which was to lead us to the unveiling of traits concealed under outward appearances.鈥�

Baudelaire even claimed 鈥渢he right to contradict oneself鈥� and preached the pleasures of inconsistency, says Zimmerman. At times he claims a libertine lineage, while still "showing deep affinities with 'the sentimental' Rousseau鈥�.鈥�

Right: Melvin Zimmerman

One must keep in mind, Zimmerman says, that much of Baudelaire鈥檚 writing took place after the coup d'茅tat of 1851 in a police state聽when original writers were suspect and spied upon. Gustave Flaubert鈥檚 novel Madame Bovary was put on trial for obscenity in 1857 during Baudelaire鈥檚 time, as was Baudelaire鈥檚 Flowers of Evil. It is therefore not surprising, that Baudelaire鈥檚 style is characterized by irony.

In a postface, a paper on Jeanne Duval, Baudelaire鈥檚 black companion, and La Belle Doroth茅e, whom he met in R茅union, exoticism, misogyny, racism and post-colonial issues are touched upon.

The launch is sponsored by , Glendon鈥檚 French-language publishing house聽 and the 91亚色 Bookstore.

Those wishing to attend should RSVP to Michael Legris, 91亚色 Bookstore marketing & special events coordinator, at mlegris@yorku.ca or ext. 22078, today.

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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